For The Good of The Whole
by Beck2
Summary: AU original character verse. chapter ten: a note from the author
1. From Humble Beginnings

A/N

Okay! New AU fiction off my Dannyverse, hopefully this one will do better. You may notice some major changes. I know, you may not see some of the more popular characters, especially the animals. It's okay though, because there will most likely be new animals just as fun to enjoy. Another thing too…as the story progresses, I'd like anyone that feels the need and read my other stories to please tell me if I'm getting better, because I'm trying to teach myself to be a better writer, but it's in the prototype stages right now, and I need secondary opinions. As the story progresses along, because it might be hard to tell from the first chapter. This is voluntary, so if you don't want to do it, you don't have to. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, hopefully there will be a lot of character development, and I have high hopes that this will be one of the better stories I've written. So read, please, and enjoy. Sorry for taking up so much space.

Just so you know, it takes place before the whole apocalypse thing because I never got to see that far except to when Magneto and the five X-men started fighting the green, glowing spider.

* * *

From Humble Beginnings

* * *

Scott Summers, teen leader of the X-men, was sitting in the dining room doing what every good leader should do. 

He was reading the funnies off the Sunday newspaper.

Folding the paper over to read the bottom page, he reached over for the orange juice he had just poured to find that it had, inexplicably, vanished. He glanced in surprise to see Kurt drinking down the last of his juice while shoving a muffin in his mouth.

"That was mine!"

"'orry." Kurt gave him a wolfish grin. The other mutants of the School started filtering in. Kitty poked her head over Scott's shoulder.

"Can I see that after your done? I, like, need to catch up on current events."

"I don't think reading Dilliard the Fancy Duck is going to save your grade in history, Kitty."

"Tch! Whatever, I already did my assignment, Princess."

"In my country, I would have servants read me the news."

"Must be harsh to actually do things on your own." Rogue commented on her way to pancakes. Amara gave her a glare and then frostily ignored her.

Scott handed Kitty the front page, which she immediately started reading, and resumed immersing himself in the comics. Next time, he'd get there at five and stay in silence so he could read the funnies in peace.

"Heeeyyy…" Kitty read down an article. "'Last Friday, around two P.M, a townhouse thirty miles out of Bayville got robbed,' and get this! The entire place was supposed to have this really kick butt security system, and security guards. And this is the best part, nobody saw a thing!"

"Did they say what was stolen?" Ray asked after pouring a bowl of cereal.

"Hmm….no, they didn't. Weird." Kitty shrugged. "Maybe it's, like, private."

"Oh! What's playing at the theatres this week?" Jubilee asked. "I heard that this really sweet movie is playing, and—"

"Not another chick flick!" Ray groaned.

"Hey! Nobody asked you!" Jubilee snapped angrily.

Scott groaned to himself. There was never a moment's peace.

* * *

We stood on the top of a bridge, looking down at a boy who was spluttering swear words at my red haired companion with every breath he could get. 

"That's rude. Look at how mean he's getting." She clicked her tongue. "He started it; he shouldn't have been such a randy little jerk."

"Daria! Get over here!" Our teacher was yelling at her, wavingher over to the group. Luckily, he hadn't seen the little fiasco that just happened.

Daria flounced ahead of me. "Let's go before he gets an aneurism."

I kept a steady pace just behind her. Her tall profile was just enough to keep me mostly out of view.

Daria is what most people would think of as a social delinquent by looks. Fishnet stockings, black boots, short red skirt and tight black t-shirt, with naturally pale skin paled further with makeup. In heels she stood a vicious 6'2 with enough attitude in her walk to make lesser creatures remove themselves from her path. Her green eyes were augmented with red shadowing and her lips stood out on her voice being the same color as dark blood, matching her hair.

I, by contrast, stood a foot less, thin with plain colored clothes, a simple shirt and jeans, no makeup, a bare splash of freckles across my face and light brown hair that stayed in the same place all of the time.My eyes are a pale blue that made me look a little less than healthy. I am, for all intentional purposes, invisible behind Daria.

Which is why I stand behind her. Behind her, no one sees me.

In fact, it protected me well, because the man that was making advances at Daria only saw her, which caused her to push him into the water. Which caused his loud curses.

I shifted my bag on my shoulder. The man was swimming to the shore, still hissing words in Daria's general direction. I put him out of my mind.

Our class was stopped in a little city called Bayville, as we had been for the last four days. I yawned quietly. This was our last day. We were just having a little jaunt through the park before leaving. Our buses were parked on the other side.

In New York, we stopped at a theatre to gather cultural studies by absorbing Shakespearean plays. Our entire trip was to last two weeks, and we spent a week and two days in those theatre productions. The other days were for shopping. Everyone was gushing with excitement for everything they got. I didn't bring a lot of money. Just enough for food, and then I had to skimp. My money had to be used for other things.

Daria pushed through everyone to get on the bus. I followed, like a second shadow to her. We sat in the middle of the bus.

Daria allowed me to sit with her and be her follower/friend because I had nothing that would challenge her personality and place in the universe, not anything I would show in her presence.

The bus grew noisy as the people loaded on, and soon the bus was moving on to Kansas, our home state.

"Home sweet Home." Daria said boredly. "It's too bad nothing interesting happens to us."

I didn't nod. She wasn't speaking for my benefit, anyway.

* * *

"I fear these robberies may be the work of a mutant." Professor Xavier handed Ororo Monroe an article cut from a newspaper. "Many of these places had security, but no one noticed anything until after the objects went missing. All of the objects, incidentally, that I've gathered from reading all have a common trait, usually of curious background. Take this amber crystal, for example: It has a crystallized beetle in it. It was kept in a safe with several high quality diamonds. The only thing stolen was the amber. I'm curious as to what this thief's motives are." 

"Are you sure it is the same thief?" Ororo asked, leafing through another six articles.

"Yes. I sent Logan to check the sites in case there was mutant activity. He came back and told me that the same scent is in all the places he investigated."

"I wondered where the Blackbird had gone."

"He's heading to Kansas this week. He's already been to New York and some southern states. The thief seems to cover a good amount of area."

"But what will we do if it is a mutant?"

"We will have to find a way to make them stop-either give alternatives to stop the crime spree or turn them into the authorities."

"I would hope it is that easy." Ororo said, poring over an article.

* * *

Night in Kansas in my backyard is more beautiful than any city's. The stars shine so clearly and the moon shines so brightly, it lights up the ground so one doesn't even need a flashlight to travel. 

Which was precisely what I was doing. I was late for a meeting, the bus had been late dropping me off at home. I had to move quickly if I was to make the gathering at all.

Clothed all in black I stole away across the field behind my house and made for the slow rise of earth in the middle of it.

I dug my hands in the soft dirt and pulled out a small orb. I hastily whispered words to it, and it shined brightly. The world blurred about me and I was set down in a forest. I got up and hastily made for the direction of the meeting.

When I got there, some of the other participants gave me dirty looks. I bowed my head against them.

A quick glance about found that offerings were being made to Jaakeni. I took a place behind the last provider. The offerings were placed in a dark bowl of water on a pedestal, a direct portal to him, capable of taking objects and of communicating his voice across the portal.

There were many gifts for Jaakeni. These gifts kept him and his people alive against the enemies of Ghallia. They had special magical influence that he used to keep his enemies at bay.

When I stepped up to Jaakeni's pedestal, his voice rang out.

**_Greetings, dearest Danielle._****_ Why ever are you late? Did you run into some trouble? Are you hurt?_**

His voice was like soothing water: it flowed across me and wiped away all doubts from my mind.

"No. I had transportation delays, Lord Jaakeni." I said evenly, calmly. "I have brought you this."

I held out a perfectly oval piece of amber. Inside of it, the crystallized beetle had spread it's wings for flight.

**_Perfect Danielle._****_ Wonderful child. You have brought me that which I unfairly asked of you to bring. Understand that your fearlessness brings great hope to the people. They are indebted to you._**

"It is my pleasure to help."

**_You are a part of our community, Danielle. Remember that, and always be careful. What you do is for the good of the whole, and we welcome it._**

"Of course." I dropped the offering into the bowl. It disappeared without a splash. I stepped down and merged back into the lines of the others.

**_My friends, you have prolonged our freedom yet again. But do not believe that we need you no more and wish to push you aside. The enemy is strong, and we need you desperately._**

I felt the calm settle in my very bones. There was nothing more important than what Jaakeni was saying.

**_Come forth if you would in your great compassion, for I have other locations of the magical focuses. Come, and help us once more. We need you. _**

We formed a line, like many times before, and received the next locations. Most of the people here would only get the least dangerous ones. They were not trusted enough.

**_Hello Danielle. I'm so glad of your participation. You are so important to me now_**.

I am trusted.

**_There is a building, a shop, named after a black dragon. It is near where you live. Inside the building there is a special scale, made of material no man could temper. Please bring it. It's power would drive the enemy across the fields, away from the Shrieker's shallows. I know you would want that. _**

"Of course. Anywhere that it can help." I said, a slight feeling of happiness that he would have thought of me. I let it stay for a moment before pushing it away.

**_I thank you all for your kindness. Remember through, that Ghallia spies have been seeping into your world to stop your mission. They cannot find you if you do not show emotion. I say this for your own protection. Free yourself from emotion. It will only make you target to the enemy._**

"Yes, Lord Jaakeni." We all said in unison.

**_Go now. There is much for all of us to do, for the greater whole. Be well my friends. And remember above all else…_**

A sudden pang of pain in the back of my skull broke my concentration a bit. Something was calling me. I shoved it away. By the time I had, Jaakeni had stopped talking. He was gone, and I felt cheated for not hearing his last words.

I turned and left the meeting, the others mimicking me. We all had jobs to do now.

For the greater whole.

* * *

Well, that was interesting in a creepy sort of way. Please leave all reviews, constructive criticism, happy thoughts for the day and so on, on your way out. Thanks for reading! 


	2. The Mask Hides

A/N:

Sorry for the slow updating. I've been carefully planning out the story, even though I'm only to chapter six, to see if i can't fix my sequencing flaws. Bear with me, I'll try to keep more or less steady. Right now, I'll compensatewith longer than usual chapters. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

The Mask Hides...

* * *

One day at school, I read a quote. It was 'To know yourself, you must know the world around you.' 

If that's true, I've known myself since the age of four.

Nothing was hidden from me as I slipped behind a car, a dark colored automobile that matched my clothing perfectly.

It had taken less than an hour to find the shop Lord Jaakeni had spoken of. Less than that to get ready and steal aboard a passing Semi-trailer and ride the two hours to Cookstown, Kansas.

When I was four, I talked to imaginary friends, or that was what my parents said. I was speaking to birds. As I got older, my speech got stronger, more perfected. Soon, I could speak with any animal within a certain distance. Events that happened between my fourteenth and sixteenth year made it possible to see things exactly as they happened, even from miles away, so long as the medium was correct.

This is what Lord Jaakeni used me for. Any thing that must be found, I find. Never, ever did I fail him, not once.

I stole behind the building and gently scraped the rug at the back door aside. The door was set into a decaying red brick wall, thick with crawling bugs just under the surface. I picked up the set of spare keys from the ground and unlocked the door.

Inside the building, the hallway was dank, just as I knew it would be. There were termites in the walls in intricates mazes, and a small plate of rat poison next to another door which swung open with no protest.

In the Shen Curio Shop, the shelves were covered with plastic figurines and paper cranes. There was very little of actual value, but that didn't stop the owner from charging cut throat prices. The sign above the door displayed a black dragon with its mouth open in a permanent snarl.

I shook my head. I wasted time, doing this. It wasn't as if I were looking with my own eyes anyway. All I needed was the scale.

I bowed my head and concentrated, sifting my thoughts through the information that was constantly updating itself. This information came from any animal that was near by, even if it wasn't actually speaking to me The information flowed like a river that I was only partially submerged in. I moved through the useless information quickly. I didn't want to be thinking for too long. It would leave me open to attack. Also…

It made me feel uncomfortable to be in this section of my mind. As if I were intruding on creatures that would simply stare at me as if I were the trespasser. But how could I be a trespasser in my own mind? It made no sense. I pushed it aside. I had the location I needed.

Apparently, the shopkeeper had known the scale was of some value. He had it in a safe hidden behind a wall of clutter. I slinked over to the safe and started pulling away the old magazine and paperweights, carefully shooing away the spiders who were so kind to give me the location I needed.

The lock had a combination, but I knew what that was with a little 'coaxing' from a nest of starlings outside. I bent down and began to twirl the combination lock, totally engrossed with what I was doing. I pushed everything out of my mind except the task at hand.

Right thirty-four.

Left nineteen.

Right twenty-six.

The door clicked open and I pulled out the only content-a box of some sort, probably cardboard, that rattled when I shook it lightly. I checked the box carefully in my peripheral mind vision…yes, the glow was there. The soft, strange glow that pure magic set off, that could only be seen by certain types of eyes, mostly of birds…

A sudden, alien sound behind me caused me to freeze.

There was someone there. I silently cursed myself. I had been too interested in the safe to cover myself. Without turning around, I used my mind to gather information about my foe.

The prognosis was not good. He was taller than me, stronger than me, and by far more aggressive. I could smell the aggression, the raw power that seemed to move in waves. And claws. Claws that sprouted from his fists.

I had dealt with mutants before. Some of the more rich people I stole from had them as bodyguards. Usually, I was careful enough not to let them see me. But sometimes, I got a little ahead of myself.

But there is always a contingency plan.

"Alright, back away from that safe, buddy." He flexed his claws. "Or you're going to be on the cover of the newspaper, and not in a good way."

He saw the figure in black slip something away, then stand up slowly. It was shorter than him.

Is it a kid? He wondered. What would a kid be doing stealing from this place? It didn't look like anything was of value.

"Turn around." He ordered. "Slowly now."

The figure was clothed in black pants and what looked like a black, hooded jacket. As the figure turned, he could see the hood had been pulled low in front of the face.

"Turn all the way around, no funny business." He stood on guard, ready for anything, but expecting the scared face of some punk.

What he got was something he would have never expected.

It was a mask. A mask with no eyes or marking.

"What the…" He gaped in surprise.

In all of his years of combat, he knew not to drop his guard. But he did, and whoever it was knew. It wasn't much of a bared weakness, but whoever it was saw the opportunity, somehow, and needed no urging.

He saw it coming. He cursed loudly and swung his claws down, hoping to wing it. The person sidestepped the claws even before they came close to hitting and stepped forward, until his nose was inches from the cold, bone colored mask with no eyes.

The mask blocked his vision and he didn't see the blow coming until too late.

A cheap, five dollar paperweight crashed into his eye, causing him to flinch back from pain. When he shook the pain off, the figure was already running down the hall back to the door he had found open.

He ran after the figure, a sense of rage overtaking him. This guy had a lot of nerve, pulling something like that, and he was going to catch him, come hell or high water.

The figure was pulling ahead of him, running low to the ground. He tore after him, pooling all of his stamina.

There was no way a freak in a mask, was going to get the better of him, especially when he was angry. Tearing through alleyways and side streets, he kept pace with the figure, but stayed always thirty feet behind. It was getting difficult to see the running masked figure.

"Mask! Get back here!"

'Mask' sped up. He swore and yelled at himself mentally for wasting his breath.

Mask took a sudden turn by reaching out and grabbing a stop sign and swinging himself around ninety degrees, letting go at exactly the right moment, with a burst of speed from the swing.

Who was this guy? He couldn't be blind, he had to see somehow…

He turned the corner of the stop sign fast, swinging wide into the road.

**HHHOOOOONNKKKK!**

He had a split second sight of headlights flooding the road before he jumped to the side out of reflex, just missing the screaming tires. The large red truck careened down the road before hitting a parked car.

Ignoring the driver who got out and screamed obscenities at him, Logan looked around the dark street.

Mask was gone.

"Shut up!" He roared at the driver, his temper getting better of him. The driver scurried away at the sight of his claws.

Damn. Now he had to leave. The driver was probably calling the police at this very second.

He was torn between finding Mask and not getting thrown in jail or shot. Both had the same pull.

The sirens sounded a few streets over. There was no use going after Mask now, he realized. The guy would probably be more on guard with police, and if Mask could surprise him, then he could stay hidden.

Logan could hide too. He turned , sheathing his claws, and walked quickly back down the alleyway as police sirens began to echo through the streets.

* * *

I dodged away from a puddle as I sped away downtown, looking for something, anything, to mask my presence, somewhere to hide. 

The man in the shop, mutant though he was, wasn't my biggest problem. He stopped chasing me. It was the pursuers I'd picked up by stupidly passing under a street lamp, giving away my position to everyone.

Ghallia soldiers were hot on my tail.

They'd been waiting to catch sight of me or any of lord Jaakeni's followers. They couldn't find the artifacts-they had to steal them, usually by outnumbering their prey.

At four to one, I had to admit, I was outnumbered.

I slid into shadows and began using my limbs in any way to go faster and stay hidden at the same time. I had to keep calm, because emotion draws them like moths to flames. And as of right now, I knew they didn't know where I was, but in which direction I was headed. If I could find the right amount of cover, I could give them the slip.

I should have left them behind before. I had melted back into the shadows and doubled back several times, even passing the squad on the way, but it didn't work. It hadn't worked except for a few seconds each time, giving almost no breathing space at all.

It was the leader. He (I could tell he was male in the way he moved, a little more aggression in his stride) seemed to have an inner compass, always pointing him to my position. He was the one that turned when the group went too far, the one that seemed to be sensitive to every little direction change I made.

My legs ached painfully as I rounded a corner and met up with a chain link fence. I hurriedly opened the door and scrambled into the area that the sign on the fence had forbidden entry.

My body was aching. My stamina wasn't nearly good enough to take a marathon all over Kansas.

In the construction site beyond the fence, there were dogs sifting through trashcans and cats yowling their adversaries away from the few scraps of the day. It was perfect. More eyes meant I saw my surroundings more clearly.

The construction site was building a four story building, but it was only half finished. I began climbing up its skeleton. Boards had been placed here and there, but none were close to creating a full wall.

The squad was close.

There was a hanging platform of boards and such hanging outside the third floor, covered in a tarp. I was almost there.

I could hear the squad with my own ears now. They were thundering forward, with the leader moving a full ten steps ahead of the rest.

Damn. I sped up, finally getting to the platform. I got onto it carefully, And slid under the tarp, just as the leader ran into the site.

He stopped, and for the first time I got a good look of how he looked, not just how he moved.

He was short, something I had missed in my run to get away. The way he moved must've made him seem larger. He could only be a few inches higher than myself. His hair seemed to be odd, not human like, but no unhumanlike, either. I couldn't see his features all that well, the cats were hiding and my ability to see in the dark had lessned. I could see he was thin, and the slightest built of the entire squad. And he was looking around carefully at things.

He knew I was here.

The other three reminded me of movie muscle. Big, strong, not incredibly worth asking opinions of. One wasn't as muscled but looked like a weed on miracle grow-the man had to be over seven feet.

Suddenly, there seemed to be some sort of argument between the three. I couldn't understand them, though I heard the words. It was Ghallia, I guessed.

Apparently it was an aggravated argument that didn't touch their leader.

It was the wariness I sensed first. The wariness a bunch of dogs feel when a new dog is introduced, but the dog is different in the way that it doesn't fight but the other dogs know not to cross the line. It was rare, but always to be watched, because sometimes the quiet dogs were the meanest, nastiest creatures of all.

The argument exploded into a few nasty sounding words and the three bounded off, leaving the leader in his spot.

A few minutes ticked past, and he hadn't moved. Most of my attention was on him now, since his friends were long gone.

I felt around for a suitable piece of weapon, and my hand closed around an iron pole, a little shorter than myself.

Why wasn't he leaving? Was he psychic? I had heard of psychic mutants, but never met any, barring myself, and maybe Ghallia had some of their own.

He was looking up at the building now.

I felt it coming. I tried to keep it down, but it came anyway.

A twinge of fear.

It was so sudden that I and the man below paused. Then he started moving. I grabbed the pole and swept up the tarp I had put over myself. He suddenly disappeared from my vision, but not completely.

Certain Ghallia spies have an amazing talent, to go invisible to human eyes. I once read an article that the human eyes see only a certain number of waves of light, and anything below or above the window becomes invisible. This is what they do. They move out of the human sight spectrum.

Luckily, my human eyes are covered. I rely on others.

There was only a slight, out of focus shifting of color down there. I jumped into space, pole down. There was a whistle of wind as I fell. More fear knotted inside of me. The man stopped.

In just the right position for the pole to hit him.

There was a yell and the man phased back. The force of the pole piercing his shoulder and slamming him to the ground had been enough to slow my descent so I wouldn't hurt myself.

I didn't bother to stop and look. It would take him awhile to get the pole out, it had him pinned to the ground. I ran.

I saw him jerk in pain and struggle to free himself. It made me run faster.

I ran until I felt my lungs and body burn. I was far away now. He wasn't giving chase.

I had accomplished the mission. All I had to do now was get back before dawn, and easy enough task.

Lord Jaakeni would be proud. I was glad.

He would congratulate me on injuring the Ghallia spy. When he did, I would feel proud.

But right now, I couldn't help but feel sick.

* * *

Please leave reviews and most importantly, any constructive criticisms you may have on the way out! 

PrincessofWildfire: Thanks so much for writing back. As for the evil Danny part, that will be talked about more later. Anyway, I'm glad you critiqued me. I never have been all that certain if my writing has been making any big leaps, because my mental thinking tends to stay the same, and I'm never certain if what i'm doing improves. Though, I have high hopes for this. I hope you like it alot. And as for feeling bad for Scott, remember-he still has the funnies.


	3. What the face cannot

**A/N**: Sorry about the delay. I have excuses, but I'll leave them now, because I really should have gotten this up sooner. I'm sorry. Anyway, extra, extra long chapter as a peace offering. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**I see you have brought me the scales. Good work, Danielle. I knew I could count on you.**

"I would do what you ask, Lord Jaakeni. For the good of the whole." I said, head partially bowed. Two days after my last heist and here I stood, congratulated by Lord Jaakeni from the black water. I could feel the pride hiding smugly in my ribs, berating any feelings of sickness I had before.

**I have another request of you now, and a favor to ask, now that you have told me of your account of bravery against the Ghallian soldier.**

"Ask anything, Lord Jaakeni." I said.

**I wish for you to take these weapons, go and find the pressed flower artifact which occupies a space amongst many artifacts of old cultures. And kill any Ghallian soldiers in your way. **

Two objects flowed out of the water. They were gloves, tipped with malicious looking claws on the fingertips.

I stared at the gifts and tried to push down the strange buzzing I kept hearing in my mind. It sounded like something was pushing at the corners of my brain.

**--for us. Will you Danielle?**

I kicked myself mentally. "Of course Lord Jaakeni. Anything you ask." I picked the gloves up carefully and stepped away from the pedestal. Whatever had been drawing my attention from Lord Jaakeni had succeeded again.

He had asked me to kill. Of course, he would need all the help he could get. I would be glad to give it, to save his people. But kill?

_Would I be thinking of this if I heard his last words completely?_

I almost stopped, shocked at that thought. How could my own mind be so rebellious?

And how could I be wondering if that were true?

* * *

"We should be using Cerebro to find that punk that stole from that store." Wolverine growled down at Professor Xavier. The Professor simply kept on with his work.

"The authorities may very well find him before us. And without any real idea of what his mind is like, I can't lock onto him anyway. Besides, Logan, we must keep looking for new recruits. These young mutants are more of a threat than the robber right now, to themselves and others if their powers get out of control."

Logan snarled and looked away. Xavier had decided that the paperweight the thief had hit Logan with had done nothing to improve the mutant's mood.

"Ah, here we are." Xavier began zeroing on the position of a mutant. "There's a young mutant here…There!" He pointed to a small house out in the Kansas countryside. "Get a team together. We're making a house call."

* * *

I pulled a large rattler out from under the roots of an old decrepit willow my mother loved. I carried the still body past our backyard fence and set it down in the grass and shooed it away.

A while ago my smallest brother almost got bit by a rattler. It had come inches away from clamping its teeth onto his little leg. The only thing that stopped it was the hoe I was using to till the ground for Mom.

I killed that snake. It was one of the first and last times I ever had any sort of emotional temper tantrum since I worked for Lord Jaakeni. Since then, any sort of snake and I had viewed each other as cautious enemies. They would allow me to remove them from my yard as long as that removal was not in a sack into the trashcan. I allowed them to live so long as they never made a move on any of my family members. It was an uneasy truce, but it worked.

Today was a week end, a Saturday I had spent most of my time slaving in front of a computer trying to find a pressed silent flower.

The internet is indeed a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, I was afflicted by some of the more lewd sites in my search, but that was to be expected.

Lord Jaakeni's gifts were safely put away in a special panel above my bed. It was a piece of ceiling that got rotted with and moisture and could be removed easily.

After getting rid of the snake, I walked back to my back door and walked into the house. Mom was cooking dinner for the six plus kids wandering about the house. Dad was drinking a cola from the fridge. I cleaned up a mess left behind by Mom dutifully and plucked up on of my two twin sisters who was trying to make an electric socket spark by putting gum wrappers into it.

I put her down and walked past the rows of pictures in the hallway, which had yet two other siblings that had left home, and went back to my room to sit for awhile.

I've been feeling very strange lately, like I was a T.V getting a bad signal. The ability to hear things far off was beginning to fade. I couldn't understand why.

Whop. Whop.

I frowned slightly. A helicopter was outside. I hadn't realized it was approaching.

Dangerous.

The helicopter sounds stopped. I stood in my room looking at nothing. No good. I had removed the eyes I would have used to look at the newcomers.

The doorbell rang. My eyes cut to the sound, but I didn't move. I heard Dad open the door, and start talking to someone else. Someone distinguished.

Mom was allergic to all types of animals. This had, more than once, turned out to be a drawback for me. Without animals, I had little eyes protecting me from any unexpected encounters. Even wild animals had begun to stay away.

Mom and Dad's voices got worried. I couldn't hear what they were saying, so I padded back down the hallway.

Two men , one short and stocky, the other tall with glasses, were coming through the doorway, followed by another man in a wheelchair. The wheelchair was being pushed by a girl with red hair. I pulled back in time not to be seen by the man with shades, and crept back a little into the hall. My brother and sisters were crowded on the couch, looking at the odd assortment in wonder.

The distinguished voice began speaking again.

"Has anything odd been happening? Strange occurrences that appear to have no true reason."

"Nothing." Dad said back. He sounded confused. "What is this about?"

"I have reason to believe that a child in your household is a mutant. Now, this does not make them a monster. I have a special school that will help them control their powers, if you'll agree to send them there."

"Who…Which one could it be?" Mom was scared. Mutant racism had been popping up in the news.

"Do you have any children that have reached puberty? Or close to it?"

"Only Danny, she's back in her room. The others are only as old as nine…"Mom's voice got a little distracted. Probably thinking about the time I went missing and a few other things. "Danny…"

"Danielle! Come out here!" Dad yelled. I waited a few seconds and the walked out, rubbing my eyes.

"Yeah?" I asked, feigning a yawn.

"Sorry to wake you honey, but this man here…he wants to talk to you." Mom gestured helplessly at the man in the wheelchair.

He was bald, in a gray suit and a relaxed look that seemed to crackle with just a hint of energy. He looked at me with the most penetrating eyes I had ever seen, with a kind look in them, suggesting that everything would be fine.

I glanced at the others. Right off the bat I recognized the shorter man. I hadn't caught a good look at him before. He was the man I fought with when I was stealing the scales. The other man was a tall boy a bit older than myself. His red sunglasses disturbed me for some reason, but I kept myself emotionless.

"Danny, have you noticed anything different… about yourself?"

Not since I was four, no. "No sir."

"I see. You haven't made things happen without meaning to?"

Of course not. "No sir."

He looked at me closely, then I felt a strange sort of buzzing in my head. I felt the buzz push, and then I heard birds. They all seemed to be screaming at once.

The bald man jerked back in surprise. I held my ground and felt the buzz stop abruptly. The birds calmed and the screams went down to malignant chirps.

"Amazing. I've...I can safely say, I have never encountered that before."

My heart was hammering. It felt like it wouldn't stop. It wasn't him. It was the birds. I hadn't felt them coming. It was as if they had been there the entire time, and I had just forgotten.

"You okay, Professor?" The younger man asked.

"Yes, fine Scott." He didn't sound fine. He sounded…hesitant.

I was still trying to control my heart. I had already begun to discover what happened. He was some sort of telepath, like some mutants I'd heard on the news. He would have realized what I had been doing, then I would have had to run from them, back Lord Jaakeni. But the birds stopped him somehow. They were outside now. Hundreds, sitting in the trees. Mostly small, with a couple of large ones watching from the tree tops. But when they started screaming, I swore there were a billion times more.

I looked at them all from their own eyes. I felt like I should thank them, but something seemed to stop me. Why should I thank them? Only Lord Jaakeni should be thanked for what he does for me.

But that doesn't make any sense!

"Danny?" The man in the wheelchair looked at me carefully. "Is there something wrong?"

Yes. Yes there is.

"No sir." I said carefully. "What was it you were doing, Sir?"

"I was checking your mind for any instances of mutant activity. I believe I found it."

Mom gasped. Her daughter was a mutant. I almost felt bad for her. But…here was an opportunity.

"Danny, I am here to give you an opportunity to come to a school, where there will be others with gifts, like you. We will teach you how to use your gift to benefit mankind. We will teach you how to protect yourself against those that would hurt you and help those that need it."

I stayed quiet, forming a plan piece by piece in my head.

"You don't have to answer right away. I know it's hard to leave behind family and friends, so please, think about it."

"Do I have a choice?" I asked calmly.

"Yes. But if you decide to stay, we need to be in contact with you every once in awhile. To make sure you're alright."

"I'd like a day or two to think about it."

"Of course. We will wait for your answer in town. Here's where we'll be staying." He handed me a piece of paper with the only hotel within thirty miles written on it.

"Okay."

They stayed for a couple of minutes and then left. The stocky one passed by me and I barely looked at him. There was a more difficult task at hand now.

"Honey?" Mom put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her. She had my same hair, but beautiful, vibrant green eyes set in a slightly haggard face. "Are you okay? You know this is your decision, right? We'll stand by whatever you say."

I felt a pang of guilt. She trusted me a lot, for all the times I seemed to do everything wrong for her. I wanted to say she shouldn't trust me like that, but a deeper sense of duty had me pulled in another direction. I wanted to kill it. It was taking me away from people I loved far too much to hurt.

"I will mom. I'll decided tonight. I'm going to sleep now."

"Honey, it's only—"

"Let her go." Dad hugged her as I padded back down the hall.

* * *

Things needed to be done. So many things.

I packed my bag with the changes of clothes I needed. In the bottom of the bag was my mask and stealth outfit, along with Lord Jaakeni's gifts. Also the orb I used to get to the meetings, stashed away, wrapped in old cloth rags.

I had to pack light. I was going to do a lot of traveling. It would take some changes to my clothing.

I packed away a few pocket knives, an old water bottle, a few rolls of money I had been…collecting over the years, and some other necessities. I pulled the zippers closed and balanced the bag on my shoulders. It was light. Perfect.

I didn't pack any food. It would be setting off too many signals. Mom would wonder why I need so much food for such a short trip.

The sun was beginning to rise, and I left my room. I was going to say goodbye to my parents this morning.

I stopped by the sisters' rooms I went by every bed, stood by it for a minute, looking at my younger siblings as they slept.

They looked very innocent right now, but they were troublemakers to the core. I walked out of the room, careful not to wake them up.

I walked over to Jared's little playroom across from mom's and Dad's room. He was sleeping in his little bed, snoring quietly.

"Watch out for snakes." I murmured. Then I left.

Mom and Dad were sitting at the table. They looked at me and the bag on my shoulders and knew.

"I have their hotel. I'm just going to meet them. I don't want them waking up the kids." I said.

"Honey…"Mom started, then stopped. She was afraid to say anything. Nothing like this had ever happened, and thwy were both frightened with what having a mutant in the family could do with the relationships of people outside the family, and I guess for me as well.

"I'll be fine." I side with a smile on my face. "Don't worry…I'll call you once a week. I won't forget."

"I'll give you a ride." Dad got up. I waved him back down.

"I can make it. You won't, in those pajamas. Don't worry, I'll call you when I'm settled in. It's easier this way."

"For who?" Mom griped, then looked chagrined.

"For me. Trust me, the girls and Jared would rather have you here."

A half hour later I was out the door and into a taxi-Mom and Dad refused to let me walk alone. A little less then ten minutes later I stopped the driver six blocks from the Blackrock hotel.

It was still early, so I walked into an alley unnoticed. I hid my backpack behind an old dumpster and threw some trash over it. I wiped off my hands on my pants and quickly walked the six blocks.

When I got to the hotel, I sucked in a deep breath. Better to seem slightly off balance than far too calm.

I pushed open the doors to the lobby and saw the man I had fought before. He stood with a cup of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other. He raised his eyes to watch me walk in.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk with the Professor." My voice was meek. He looked at me for a minute. I stood as normally as I could, but I could feel an edge in his gaze.

Damn the paranoid.

"Wait here." He growled. I nodded, making sure our gazes never met. He went to the elevators and got in, shooting me another suspicious glare before the doors closed.

I held down a frown. I took a quick glance around the lobby. Nobody was here at seven in the morning. No necessarily strange. It was a small town, and not exactly a hub of publicity.

The elevator beeped. It couldn't be that man again. Too soon.

The doors slid open and the girl with red hair and the boy with shades walked out, yawning.

"Oh!" The boy noticed me. "It's you. What are you doing up so early, here, at this time?"

"I came to talk with the Professor." I said, looking him up and down. What was his name again?

"I'm Jean." The girl introduced herself. I had to look up to see her face. Shortness has some disadvantages. "And this is Scott. Danielle, right?"

"Yes." I nodded.

We stood in awkward silence.

"Would you like to have breakfast with us?" Scott blurted out. Jean took up his lead immediately.

"That's a great idea! We can get to know each other better, and we can tell you all about the institute."

"I've already eaten breakfast." I lied.

"Well…we can just talk—"

The elevators beeped again and out came the Professor and the other man.

"Miss Nesmond. You certainly are an early riser. I barely got up an hour ago. May I ask why you're here? You could have just called."

"I wanted to give you my answer in person."

"Alright." His wheelchair stopped a few feet away. Scott and Jean respectfully moved away.

"My answer is no. I'm sorry." I said with a strain of sadness in my voice.

His eyebrow raised. The other three had varying looks of surprise.

"Can you tell me why?"

"I could never leave my family. I love them too much, and there's so much they need help with. My sisters will be home full time summer vacation, and the holidays will really tax us. And no one knows about me except my family. If I go with you, It'll be too hard on my family and me. I can't leave them behind."

"You know that you will have to leave home sometime." The Professor said carefully.

"I know. But it won't be now. I'm sorry." I hung my head.

"I understand. We can't force you to come. I only wish you would reconsider. But, if your heart is set, I only ask for you to keep in touch."

"Of course. Mom and Dad are getting a cell phone. If you give me your number, I'll call you."

"Just a check up every now and then."

"Of course. I'll call you once I get it." I said with my best smile. Jean gave him one of the hotel pads and he wrote something down on it. He gave it to me and I silently read the number to myself. "Thank you Professor. I'll keep in touch."

"Are you staying in town for very long?" Jean asked.

"I'm afraid not. I have to get home. Thank you for your kindness."

"We can give you a ride."

"I'll take a taxi. I have enough money. Thanks anyway. I'd better leave before my siblings get up. They get anxious if I'm not there."

An hour later, I managed to make my escape. I flagged down a cabbie and had him drive me back down the road until I was out of sight of the hotel. I paid the perplexed cabbie, snuck back through the back ways and got back to the dumpster, retrieving my bag. Then I weaved back through the streets, careful to keep away from the hotel.

Another half hour later, I was buying a ticket out of town. I hadn't gotten carded, but in any case, they sold tickets to sixteen year olds and above. This bus station had the definite feel of 'don't ask, don't tell'.

I sat down. I had fifteen minutes till the bus came. I glanced down at my watch.

Funny. It had only taken a little more than three hours to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. If I didn't call in a week, no one would know where I was. If I died, I'd be a Jane Doe. No one would know.

Except Lord Jaakeni.

But even still, that rebellious thought quaked up, as hard as I tried to push it aside.

Even if he knew I died or disappeared, would he care?

"Shut-up." I hissed silently.

The bus rolled up, and I hastily got up. I couldn't afford to stay any longer. I got on the bus and sat in the middle, across the aisle from a teen that was drooling in his sleep.

When the bus started rolling again, I heaved a sigh of relief. There was nothing holding me back.

And now, there was no looking back, either.

* * *

PrincessofWildfire: Sorry about the lag. And I don't mind the rambling, and I know this may have confused you more, but hopefully it will begin clearing up with upcoming chapters.


	4. The wavering truth

A/N

It didn't take me an entire month! I'm so proud of myself! Hope everyone enjoys!

* * *

I hate museums.

It wasn't the feigned interest of the people that came in, or the all too real interest of others, or the crabby guards, or the fact that the only animals around were dead ones.

It was the security systems.

The museum I was breaking into had one of the best security systems in the world.

For some reason, Bayville Museum had the one security system that could fry a person in ten seconds. What were they hoping to accomplish? It wasn't one of the bigger or more extensive museums, anyway…

In any case, that was the reason I was perched on the roof, unscrewing a rather tight plate that was covering the air vent.

Jaakeni's flower was in there somewhere. It was in the old Victorian exhibit.

I managed to get one small screw undone and started on another. I had to work fast-a few minutes might mean the whole job.

Another screw came undone. I flexed the claws Lord Jaakeni had given me. They could cut through metal, but metal cutting was noisy, and there were sound detectors on the roof. They did well for replacement screwdrivers, however.

The plate shifted a little. I put one hand on it securely to prevent it from banging.

Another screw came undone. I caught it deftly and put it in the small pile with the others.

Pigeons cooed on the sides of the building. They were my lookouts. They were also looking at me, so I didn't have to take off my mask for the time being. Inside the museum would be slightly more difficult.

The last screw fell loose and I snatched before it could hit the ground out of reflex. It probably wouldn't make enough sound to trip the alarms anyway. I set it in the small pile and lifted the metal plate, placing it quietly on the roof. I quickly went done into the vent, careful to move as quietly as possible.

The next air conditioning vent I came to, I pushed open lightly.

SCREECHH!

Son of a…

I ducked down, ready to run.

No alarm sounded.

I cocked my head to the side.

Even if humans can't hear silent alarms, there are other ways to detect them. I stretched my mind out in the direction of Bayville Police Station. No sudden movements, no cars coming out. No cars in the immediate area suddenly flashing lights and coming this way.

I slipped down from the vent and landed on the tile floor. Still nothing.

For something that's the most guarded place ever, this was turning out to be a major disappointment.

I slinked about, hiding behind an exhibit. The vision from the animals was too blurry to keep the mask on.

I pulled it off carefully and stuck it down my jacket. I had an inkling this would happen, so I painted my face in black, blue, and gray. The colors swirled in the darkness and made it impossible to show off any of my defining characteristics. I had combed some black dye in my hair so it wouldn't show up in the darkness.

I looked up and had to stifle a yelp. I was staring face to face with a dying Roman. The victorious Gladiator was frozen in a victory roar with his shield held up. His spear was in the Roman I was barely inches away from.

Gruesome.

I stepped away from the exhibit. I had to be in the Roman rooms.

That was five rooms away from where I wanted to be.

I had come a day earlier to check out the layout with the other tourists. I knew without my animal detection system, things could get dicey, so I wanted to memorize everything beforehand. It paid off.

I snuck out into the hallway and sped past the cameras. I would only be a black blur, hopefully, and no one could tell who I was anyway in this darkness.

I crept carefully into the Inca room. Here was a real golden statue from the Incan period, covered with glass and dozens of infrared sensors, in plain sight in the middle of the room.

I flattened myself against the wall. The infrareds were off.

I frowned. Why, oh why, is a priceless artifact without its most potent protection alarm?

The same reason the alarms didn't go off.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are." I breathed, taking in the area carefully. There was no one here. "Then I'll just find what I want and leave." I whispered quietly. "You and I need not meet."

I slipped away from the Inca room, through the rooms of ancient Vikings, and past the Medieval rooms. I crouched outside the partially opened doors to the Dinosaur Hall.

Dinosaur Hall had been planted smack in the middle of everything about the museum. It drew the biggest customers and was set before the big opening doors.

It was also where I could hear the rustling of late night visitors.

I peered into the Hall.

Ghallian soldiers were crawling up and down the skeletons of Tyrannosaurus and some other carnivore. They seemed to be arguing about something, but I couldn't understand their language. I ducked back into the darkness.

I sat for a minute, concentrating. The Ghallians would stay there for however long it took. They were obviously waiting for someone.

Lord Jaakeni told me to kill any Ghallian soldier in my way.

_But suicide can't be the only way. They outnumber me._

I held my head in my hands. I felt a little queasy, but I was keeping it masked.

_I bet he knew this would happen._

Lord Jaakeni would never do something like that!

_Are you so sure?_

SHUT UP!

I shook my head hard. The stupid doubts wouldn't leave me alone. And talking and arguing with myself wasn't going to help anything.

But I had to admit, they were certainly right about one thing. Attacking so many soldiers at once was bound to be suicide.

And there is certainly more than one way to deal with snakes.

I back tracked till I was in the Viking room. There was an emergency phone hooked up there.

Funny thing…When electricity dies, that doesn't necessarily mean the phones do.

I put the phone to my ear and quickly dialed 911.

There was a ring, then a pick up. 'Hello, 911 services.'

'Help!' I cried into the phone in my most panicky whisper. 'There's some mutants breaking into Bayville museum!'

'Stay on the line, Miss. What did they look like?'

'They're ugly in uniforms! I think they're after that priceless Inca exhibit! Please hurry! I'm across the street, and they've already gotten in! Wait, one's coming back out…Oh no! Hel-" I cut the call off and replaced the phone carefully. I needed to find a hiding place as close to the Hall as I could. As soon as the police busted in, the Ghallians would be distracted, and I could get past them into the Victorian.

I slipped back until I was to the doors. There were two large decorative trees that never quite made it to the ceiling on either side of the doorway. The fake vines which circled their trunks made it easy to climb. I climbed the one on the left side and hid in the fake leaves.

Pretty soon, sirens were wailing through the night.

Apparently, mutant was the key word. Everyone with a badge wanted to help.

The Ghallians stopped their arguing to face the intruders. The pigeons on the roof gave me a good view of the dozen of troops running in with guns and swat teams with rifles.

Maybe it was a bit overdone. But it was a big enough problem to keep the Ghallians busy.

The doors busted open, and police swarmed the area.

"GET OFF THE DINOSAUR AND COME DOWN WITH YOUR HANDS UP!" A loudspeaker roared above the chaos.

There was a slight pause and then gunfire started to go off. The doors to the Hall busted open when two Ghallians raced through it, chased by some Police officers. When they were gone I jumped from the tree and slipped into the Hall.

The lights were down still, and the confrontation was getting downright nasty. I hid behind T-rex's broken head, waited for some cops to get their attention on another Ghallian, and ran past the downed skull into the Victorian room.

It was beautiful and velvety. How nice. There were some glass cases at the far wall. I picked up a candlestick and found the case with the flower. Luckily, no one had moved it from yesterday. They hadn't even scrubbed the dirty chocolate some two year old left.

I broke the glass and scooped up the flower. It had been encased in a glass sleeve. I stuck it into my jacket with the mask.

I ran out of the Victorian room into the Hall again. It was risky, but going through the rooms beyond the Victorian was like running into a sardine can-no good could come of it.

A few Ghallians were tearing up the place, using the bones of the dinosaurs as clubs.

No respect for the dead. I thrust my hand into my jacket and pulled out the mask, slapping it to my face as I ran behind another pile of bones.

The pigeons were flying agitatedly now, and giving me a wider range of sight.

And what I saw was not pleasing.

Actual mutants were about to ruin my show. And me, if they caught me. I drew the hood of my jacket back over my head.

Getting out the way I had come in was a no go-the two Ghallions and their police posse were fighting there. It only took one stray bullet to take me out for good.

But there were always the bathrooms.

I zagged between bones as the battle raged and managed to reach the men's bathroom. I opened it ever so slightly.

A window! Small, but a window.

I dashed into the bathroom, making sure not to brush the urinals. If they can't clean a freaking display case, how often do they clean their bathrooms? I tried not to give it too much thought.

The window was up higher than my head, but I got it open anyway. I sank the claws of Lord Jaakeni's gifts into the brick and hoisted myself up with some effort.

"I'm never eating hotdogs again." I muttered as I slipped out of the window and dropped to the pavement below. I dusted the claws off and ran as fast as I could from the museum, barely missing the X-men as their Jet touched down on the roof.

* * *

I ran for ten minutes straight, climbed up a fire escape and slid the window open to the apartment I was…borrowing for the week.

I pulled off my clothes till I was just wearing my tank top and shorts. They were my quick disguise, in case I needed to shake someone off and couldn't seem to run fast enough.

I put the mask and the gifts on a cloth, wrapped them up and put them back in my backpack. The jacket and pants I left out to be washed.

I went into the bathroom of my borrowed residence and washed the paint of my face. The hair would wait for a few minutes.

As I dried my face off I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

"You look tired, Dann." I told myself, leaning in to see how heavy the bags under my eyes were. "We need to stop this whole causing public distress stuff, or we'll get sick."

_Or dead._

"Would you please shut up?" I murmured to myself as I kept looking at myself in the mirror. "You keep on saying stuff like that and people will think you're crazy."

I shook my head. I had moments where I felt mentally dead, but this one took the cake.

I walked out of the bathroom and curled up on the couch. It didn't feel right to sleep in other people's beds, so I never did. Besides, couches were far nicer sometimes.

I yawned. I had to do laundry tomorrow and straighten the place up. The owners would be back in two days, and I wanted to make sure no one knew I was there.

At least, until I was long gone.

* * *

PrincessofWildfire: Thank you for taking the time to send me an e-mail with your review. I know wasn't working for you, but you didn't have to go out of your way. I'm glad you like the new Danny. I like her a lot myself. It's getting pretty fun to play with. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Please leave your reviews, and constructive criticisms are welcome!


	5. The eyes watch

A/N

Sorry for the delay! To make up for it, I'm posting two chapters!

* * *

"This is crazy!" Scott shook his head. "No way did we just get up in the middle of the night to find an all out war in a museum, break it up, and have the bad guys just disappear in a blink of an eye!" 

"It's obvious those guys were like, mutants. They had to be, right?"

"I'm not so sure." Jean said worriedly. "They didn't feel like mutants."

"But they looked kinda sorta like it!"

"It's not as if we could see their faces." Rogue pointed out. "They were all wearing those weird helmets and those uniforms."

"Maybe they came from a Space Ranger convention?"

"…Somehow I doubt that sci-fi moguls in dull green uniforms would hold up a museum, Miss Pryde." Hank McCoy said, rubbing his temples. "They must have been there looking for something. Perhaps we should focus on that then what they were at the moment?"

"That robber's got something to do with it. I smelt him in some of the rooms. I could have tracked him if the police and certain others hadn't been fouling up the trail." Logan glared at the sheepish looking Nightcrawler that was perched on the edge of the couch. The brimstone smell of his transporting had destroyed some of the significant smells that Logan had been trying to track.

The X-men that went on the mission, consisting of Jean, Scott, Rogue, Kurt, Kitty, Logan and Hank, stood in the study around Professor Xavier's desk. Xavier had listened to the odd tale carefully.

"Mr. McCoy is right. Make sure you ask the Curator what was missing. If we find out, we may be able to find the robber and get the whole story.

"I heard ze police say zey got a 911 call, but the girl wasn't found. Should ve look for her too?" Kurt asked concernedly.

"Yes, but keep in mind that there may be more to that than meets the eye. For all we know, that call was staged."

A few minutes later, after the X-men had filed out and gone back to bed, Charles Xavier rubbed his eyes and yawned. It was already a long night.

He steepled his fingers for a moment, and looked off into space.

He sent the X-men out when he felt a strange surge of raw psychic emotion from Bayville. It had been so strong that if he hadn't realized the danger and put his mental shields up, the force could have knocked him out. All through the broiling mass of thought, he kept on hearing one phrase above all.

Destroy the enemy.

He had sent the X-men out immediately, and they got there mere minutes after the police had engaged these creatures.

Jean was right. There was something not human about these creatures. It gave him a bad feeling.

A feeling that a conflict was boiling between two sides, and it wasn't long before it boiled over into the innocent population.

They had to get down to the bottom of this. Somehow, he had the feeling something that had to do with everyone depended on it.

* * *

I woke up four hours later, curled up on the couch in a fetal position. I didn't move an inch. 

Rain was pouring down outside. It was hitting the window with unnerving precision.

I let my hand slip nonchalantly from under my cheek to the back pocket of my shorts. I traced the tip of a knife that I kept there for emergencies. Who knew what kind of creeps prowled after seventeen year old girls these days?

Something was moving around outside.

I slipped off the couch and hid on the other side of the couch arm, away from the window. I sat with my knees to my chest, the knife out of the leather sheath in one hand, the other circled around my legs, making myself as tiny as possible.

I closed my eyes and began watching it move outside. The observation point was a small nest of starlings, huddled in their nest under the highest corner of the roof. Even though it was a few stories higher than my own borrowed place, their eyes were much better at picking out small details that anyone else I was likely to find.

A shimmering outline was carefully sneaking up the escape, not making any sound at all.

Well, well.

I blinked my eyes open, gathered up my bag and did a quick check around for anything I left out. I grabbed my wallet and jammed it down my pocket. I grabbed my sneakers and jammed them down into my bag. I picked up the jacket and pants and slung them over my shoulder. I unlocked the door and closed it quietly, locking it behind me.

No time for tidying up or laundry. I ran as quietly as I could. The Ghallian might not be able to hear me, but a person yelling at me for being noisy at four thirty in the morning might tip it off.

I got to the elevator and went down to the garage. It was a pretty nice apartment, I had to admit, with an underground parking lot. I wouldn't have expected it in Bayville. Then again, mutants hang out in an institution on the outskirts of Bayville, so maybe there was more to this town than meets the eye.

I got out of the elevator and did a quick mental check with the sparrows in the rafters. It was cold, too cold to be in a tank top and shorts.

No one was here. Yet.

Another scan produced incredible good luck.

I walked to a dark blue car with hardly a speck on the outside. It looked like it had been babied all of its life.

Unfortunately, the ones that babied hadn't thought about driving too much in the future, because the keys were locked on the inside.

A few cars down, there was a wall with a fire extinguisher. I pulled it off the wall, shifting everything I had to one arm and carrying the extinguisher in my other hand.

It really was a pity. It was such a nice looking car.

The crash set off the alarm, more than likely alerting the Ghallian. I reached over the broken glass carefully and grabbed the electronic locking device on the keychain that was hanging from the ignition. A second later, the alarm was off and I was throwing my stuff into the passenger seat. I sat in the seat after throwing my black jacket over the glass shards on the seat. I closed the door after me and started the engine. It purred to life with little comment.

I had no idea what car it was. I could tell that it must be valuable to some extent if the owner babied over it so much.

I put it into gear and began to drive out of the garage.

I passed my driver's test. I wasn't bad, really. But I hadn't driven in months. Which was why I almost clipped the little green car coming out. I got out onto the street and was hit with a blast of cold air from the broken window.

I shivered and resisted the urge to turn on the heat. I had to be on the lookout for my little Ghallian frie—

**WHUMP!**

I ducked instinctively at the sound. I closed one eye.

It was on the roof of the damn car!

I slammed my bare foot on the gas. The wheels hydroplaned for a half second then went careening down the wrong side of the street. I jerked the wheel back around and the car slid into the correct lane.

The speedometer kept going up and up. I hoped everyone would stay off the street. I didn't know if I could stop this thing in time.

Speaking of stopping-

I slammed my foot on the break and braced my arms. I didn't have a seatbelt, and it wouldn't be good if I went flying with the Ghallian.

The wheels screamed and the car went into a spin. I held on for dear life as the world whipped around. Something heavy fell off the roof.

When the car hit its back light against a lightpole, everything stopped.

After a second of breathing deep breaths and keeping whatever was in my stomach staying there, I looked up. Directly in front of the car, the limp figure of a Ghallian soldier was on the ground.

I took another deep breath.

Yes, it was a Ghallian soldier. The uniform was camouflaged in a way somehow alien to earth's own armies. As if it had been made for an environment a little more red or a little more green, in some cases. They wore helmets, which made everyone think that they were the same race, but I knew that under the helmet you could get anything from human-like to something that looked like some five year old's play-doh collection.

It started moving. I felt my foot itch to the gas.

It was just in front of the car. I wouldn't even have to get out doing it.

_But wouldn't that be killing?_

_Lord Jaakeni said to kill Ghallians in your way!_

_But it would be murder…and it's helpless, it looks like it has a broken leg._

_It isn't murder if Lord Jaakeni says it isn't!_

_But that's WRONG._

I jerked like I'd been slapped.

Of course it was wrong. It's wrong to murder, just like it was wrong to steal and wrong to hurt. Sometimes you had to do these things to survive. But not now. They were helpless, and I never wanted to kill anyway.

The soldier is in pain. I looked at them, thinking to myself.

Why did I want to kill it?

_Because of Lord Jaakeni. He told me to. You have to kill the enemy._

_But what about the helpless enemy, the one that can't fight back? Didn't Jaakeni go on about the horrors of war, the helpless cut down before the wicked?_

I was having a hard time coming to grips about my situation. On one side was the infallible words of Lord Jaakeni. On the other, the rebellious comments of a part of my mind that was against him in every way. The part of my mind that was feeling…

Pity. Not the indifferent pity of breaking the window of a perfectly maintained car. It was the pity of someone who looked down at the enemy and felt pain at what they did, without knowing why. Pity, not directed at the enemy, really…but at me.

I wheeled the car around the fallen soldier. It'd be calling others soon enough, better I wasn't around. I put my foot on the gas and tore away from the site.

_You didn't kill him. Lord Jaakeni will be furious._ The little voice in my head whispered malignantly.

I felt myself frowning. The voice had always been so natural, I had always thought it was a part of me instead. But now…it said 'you'. That's not how I talk to myself.

I couldn't stop to think about it now. I had to keep driving, had to get out of this city and away from any threats.

Then maybe I could start thinking about my situation.

* * *

She had been there. 

Oh, they all knew about her. Her, and her strange ability to always know when they were about. Some of the more foolish soldiers referred to her as a witch, as if this side of the barriers could produce such a powerful one.

Thinking amongst Ghallian soldiers, especially the lowly ranks of foot soldiers, was considered a crime punishable by death. Thinking created intelligence, and intelligence created the ever abominable question 'why'.

But even so, with every crime punishable by death, there are still a few who keep testing the bounds of authority by doing it in secret.

He was one of them.

Intelligent enough to gather information. Intelligent enough to keep said information gathering a total secret. Intelligent enough to use said information for his own purposes.

And stupid enough acting to pull it all off without so much as a raised eyebrow.

He kept guard while the two other soldiers he was with tended to the fallen idiot that had gone on ahead to cut Her off. He had gotten on the worse end of the fight it seemed. He was lucky to be alive, they said. She could have killed him if he hadn't acted like he was dead.

He almost snorted aloud. That wouldn't have helped at all. He knew from his last encounter that she wasn't that easy to fool. He had shifted out of sight and she still saw him. She even stabbed him with a pole, which still hurt…

And she let him live. He had been helpless and she didn't try to finish the job. And she hadn't here.

That made for some interesting conclusions.

Yes, he was smart. But being smart, he could tell his own military career would come to a grinding halt soon enough. He was arrogant, which made it all the harder to keep the intelligence in check. He also knew which way the war was going. As usual, it was heading for nowhere on both sides. The warrior ship of the soldiers were deteriorating, and they were dying left and right. The only thing a soldier of the 'Great Ghallian Army' could hope for was to die quick.

Unless, of course, one made his way to another option. And, truth be told, he was very good at making his way.

* * *

Please leave your reviews on the way out! Thanks for reading!

PrincessofWildfire: Hey there! Sorry it took me so long to get another chapter up! I'm having a tough time keeping my schedule straight. Heh, you have many questions! As far as Arcane goes, good possibility he won't be showing up. I'll be eplaining the Ghallians in depth soon enough, though, so bear with me! Hope you enjoy the chapter!


	6. Prepare for time

A/N

The second chapter today! I hope you like it!

* * *

I ditched the car at some gas station around three o'clock later that day. I bought a small cup of popcorn chicken, ignored the 'ten minute parking' sign, and wandered off to lose myself in the streets of some city in the border of the southern edge of Pennsylvania. 

After walking for about an hour, I found some hotel to spend the rest of the day and night. I was tired and cranky and my shoulders ached a bit.

When I finally got checked into a room that was fifteen dollars overpriced, I locked the door, made sure the windows were closed, and flopped onto the bed.

My eyes burned from keeping them on the road for so long. My arms felt like they had been picking up seventy pound weights, probably from bracing my body against the wheel. I felt like I was due a nice long nap.

About twenty minutes later, I began to feel a horrible buzzing in my head. I moaned and threw a pillow over my head.

"Why doesn't it go away?" I groaned to myself after it showed no signs of stopping.

I tossed and turned as it steadily got worse. I dug my fingers into the sheets and curled up into a tight ball as it got so loud I couldn't hear myself think.

It didn't exactly hurt, but it felt as if something was pulling at bits of my brain, not enough to hurt, but certainly enough to be very, very, VERY uncomfortable.

I moaned again. It wasn't stopping! It felt like my head was ready to explode.

Now it was beginning to hurt. I curled up tighter in defense.

There was something wrong. I needed a doctor, maybe even a neurologist. Maybe my brain was swelling. People died from that!

I felt something sliding down my cheeks. I was crying. I hadn't even realized I had begun to do it.

I gasped as the buzzing got to a keening pitch and the pain in my head got to the point where I wanted to scream.

Somewhere…somewhere deep in my head, deep inside that place that always adored Lord Jaakeni, that worshipped him and praised him, a dam broke. There was no water, but a finely tuned rush of thought that immediately released the pressure building in my head. Suddenly, the buzzing wasn't buzzing anymore.

It was voices.

Dozens of them, in every sort of dialect, gabbering away with an intense fervor. I couldn't believe it.

_You hear us now_? One voice rose above the rest, more powerful, more demanding.

"Yes." I breathed. "Where are you?"

_Unimportant. You are important. You hear us now. That means you are back with us. You are where you belong._

His voice had a certain quality to it, one I had heard of years ago…What was it? Some sort of water creature.

"Where I belong?" I whispered to the voice.

_You were gone for so long. You were in Jaakeni's grip. He told you things, and you followed blindly. You shut us out. _

He sounded reproachful. My mind felt foggy, like I was waking up from a long sleep and couldn't remember everything that happened.

"I don't remember." I said.

_You'll remember again soon. But now, now you must listen. You followed someone blindly and did not understand. You lost something that made you Danny. You have it again, but when you were not Danny, you did things. Things that could destroy you. Things you did for something else._

"What do you mean? You mean Jaakeni and his missions?"

_Yes. You give him power, for the good of Jaakeni. You follow blindly, without purpose. Now, this world is in danger. Your actions made him stronger._

"He's stronger. He'll defeat the other side."

_And what happens after that?_ The voice demanded. _He will stop on his own world when so ripe fruit lies for the taking?_

It took me a second to put it all together.

"Damn!" I uncurled myself and rolled out of bed. "He's been using me so I can give him earth on a silver platter! I've been working for the wrong team."

_Should you be on a team at all?_

"Good question." I pondered for a minute. "When I help one side, like Jaakeni, he becomes stronger. He gets earth. I help the other side, they smear Jaakeni like jelly and they get a nice open path to earth. I help my side too much and they may decide to take the fight to the two other sides, which, when they both tag team on our side they still get earth. On the off chance earth wins, well, some creatures shouldn't be given so much power. They tend to do some stupid stuff. Maybe just finding a way to neutralize the threats would be best."

_And how will you do that?_ The voice asked interestedly.

I sighed. "I wish I knew. I have no idea about this stuff. It's all magic and I'm stuck in the mutant scientific pit."

_You were there once._

"That was a long time ago. And it wasn't as if I learned anything. I tripped, I fell, I caused trouble, I was sent home. Nothing else." I put my head in my hand. Then a thought began to creep in. "I don't know anything at all about magic…but I can find someone who does. I can use the birds to look. I can find what I need, get someone's help, find out what those artifacts are for and use them to stop everything. I can use them to stop anyone from getting in, hopefully. Or getting out. That's just as important."

_You are starting to act like the Danny you are._ The voice observed.

"I'm surprising myself, actually. It's a little scary." I said truthfully. I scratched the back of my neck. "Now, I need a plan. First, I find someone. Then I figure out what to do about this. Then I start cutting ties."

_Ties?_

"It wouldn't do to cut off Jaakeni just yet. He usually gave leeway since I was only one person, but I still have one of those orbs in my bag. If I smash it now, there's a good chance he knows things aren't kosher. If I keep it to the side, I have a bit of time. I just have to move fast. He won't get suspicious until I don't show up for another week. Then I'll get what I need and get out."

_You should be careful._ The voice warned.

"I know. But that time will pass soon and I'm going to need to be able to hold my own. No one else can hold it for me now."

_We'll help. You just need to ask._

"I intend to." I said, running a mental list of things I needed to do. There was so much, and so little time till I'd have all of Jaakeni's other pets at my throat. I needed a plan, perhaps some allies…

And above all, time.

* * *

"Okay, that was kind of creepy. Those dogs in there…is that natural?" Kitty asked worriedly. 

In her arms she held a small terrier, one that had been a regular customer at the shelter. Its stark refusal to stay penned had gotten it several new owners a year. Now it belonged to her. The three girls had volunteered for the day through some twist of fate, partially because of causing some damages back at the mansion.

Jubilee shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe it was Rahne?"

"I've been to a lot of shelters and never before have dogs just stopped barking or playing and all looked in the same direction." Rahne said, casting an uneasy glance back at the shelter. They were waiting by the street for Mr. Logan to pick them up, but the sounds of loud barking and other sounds were carried over them.

"I hope Mr. Logan likes the dog." Kitty quickly changed the conversation. "I mean, who could resist this cute little thing?"

Both Rahne and Jubilee thought about Mr. Logan's reaction, but quietly kept the comments to themselves.

* * *

I was having difficulties. 

To say what was around me with the aid of animals was easy enough. It was like being a TV set-they were the signals, I just had to put it together and create a picture from the signals. The more animals, the clearer the picture. Enough animals, and I could see a muscle flex on a person's arm.

And I could turn that around, to look for a specific object or building or even energy, just so long as I had a specific to go by.

But it's one thing to look for something by specifics, another to look in generality.

Looking through animal reports is like doing a search on the internet. You get maybe ten good results out of five thousand, and they get mixed in, so you have to figure out which ones to push to the side and which to investigate.

I was patient. Not very, but enough. You had to have a degree of patience to understand what goes on in the animal world. Most of it took being able to figure out the different dialects.

First was an elderly woman, gray haired, and from my sparrows, a faint shimmering outline of power.

I sipped a bit from my water and shifted a little from my position on the floor. I couldn't be there, and they were hundreds of miles away, but the information they sent through the grapevine of bird minds sent a clear enough picture.

Before, I would have to stretch my mind out, to touch a specific animal, to get their information, but now they sent it to me. I didn't force them, like I knew I must have when I was still being controlled.

I pushed the nasty thought aside. Instead, I found myself wondering what it must be to have wings.

I may get information of all types from the animals, but I never have been able to get much farther. Information, scents and sights and the feel of things to them…that's all I ever got.

I swirled the water in the bottle as the birds followed the elderly woman from the air.

She was powerful. The sparrows told me so. But not…right.

I asked them what they meant. They had some other birds send me some…disturbing images. I told them I would look at her again later. The sparrows broke off the pursuit and went off to find some bugs.

She may be a scary old woman, but in my position, shutting off a potential ally would be a bad idea, no matter how…wrong…she was.

"Good day, Miss Agatha. We will look upon you again." I carefully put her down as last resort.

I took another sip and got ready for the next potential candidate.

A boy was sitting in a classroom, using crayons to draw pictures of ghosts and demons. Beside him, a faint outline of distortion, connected to him at the hip.

I watched the boy a bit. Without warning, the distortion snapped out and swatted a little pony tailed girl across the cheek. The girl screamed and held her cheek and cried. The boy looked up from his drawing, looking horrified. The classroom dissolved into yells, and a teacher blocked the view of the pigeons looking in.

"Frightening. But not what we're looking for." I said, sipping water. I dismissed the pigeons with a thank you and looked for the next.

I only had five returns of any good quality. The rest were magicians and some of strange energies, but they were still so normal and human, I had to throw those out.

A woman in a bayou was crooning to large alligators. There was various magical paraphernalia, but somehow I could tell she was the type that saw everyone's problems as that-everyone else's problems. Plus, judging by the chewed up boat in the water, she wasn't much of a people person.

I stuck her next to the Agatha woman.

The next was a man I knew too well.

"It's not magic." I muttered half to myself and half to the large crow pecking food out of the bird feeder by his window. "It's psychic energy."

Professor Xavier was putting a phone back on the hook. He looked out the window directly at the crow. The crow sent me a picture of the Professor looking straight at him, curiously.

"Forget him. I know where to find him anyway. You'd better get out before he calls out his mutant weedwhacker." I stretched a little as the crow left my consciousness.

Four out of five. I really wanted the last one to be someone I knew I could use.

A small blue jay, a younger one, was the conveyor of the last choice.

_You Danny, right? _He sounded a little nervous.

"Yeah?"

_You say you want all the possible ones, and I know you want people you can use, but you said all, and_—

"Spit it out already, I know what I said."

He sent me some images of a red suited, helmeted man standing on a roof, looking out across the streets.

All around him was a haze of pure energy.

I couldn't tell if the energy was magic or psychic, but it was there in abundance.

Figures my last choice would be a Ghallian soldier.

I watched him for awhile. The way he moved was familiar. I must have ran from him before.

I tapped my fingers on my knee.

On one hand, he was a Ghallian soldier. An enemy of mine right now. He would more than likely attack me as soon as see me. And I had no idea how powerful he was, so approaching him about anything that might remotely sound like treason if he wasn't that sort of guy, well, that was a different ball of wax.

On the other hand, a guy that had a front seat view to the conflict as I did might be able to provide valuable information to the intentions of both sides. Plus, he came from that other world, which had two potential invaders. He was part of them, so it was entirely possible he knew how the artifacts worked, and how to stop everything.

On the cusp of that argument, there was a matter of compensation. A person may be noble, but in general, people want to know what's in it for them. And I had nothing to give right now.

But maybe I could find out something he wants. Or I could bluff him. I could be a pretty good actress when the need arose.

Of course, I could count on him being a noble soul, wanting to help a poor girl save her planet, at the risk of his potential torture and death.

Somehow, I think that may be stretching hope a little far.

"Where are you right now?" I asked the jay.

The bluejay rattled off some directions, which I checked across some other birds, and managed to get a town forty miles past the state line.

"Tell me if he runs off. I'll be there tomorrow."

I broke the connection and rubbed my eyes. I had to get some sleep. I climbed into the bed and flopped onto the pillow. I had to get to sleep, and be in good shape in case running was involved tomorrow.

I felt my eyes grow heavy, and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Please leave your reviews on the way out! 


	7. Deals

A/N

Hey! Another chapter up, and my longest yet, pulling in at a complete nine pages. I like how it came out. Sorry about the wait, college started and I had to put homework first.

* * *

Shadows cast eerie shapes on the wall as I got dressed for the road ahead. My black pants, comfortably fit on my skinny legs, blended into them. My black jacket obscured everything about me by being just loose and bulky enough that no one could tell if I was a girl or a boy. Not that I had much to worry about in that department, really. If I had a skintight suit maybe it would have been easier to tell, but skintight suits don't help when you need to move fast and be on top of things. They tended to constrict movement.

Jaakeni's little gift were next to come on. I may be set out to betray him, but these gloves were still useful. I put them on and pulled my sleeves down. My socks and sneakers next, very much coordinated with the rest of my outfit.

Lastly…the mask.

Before when I looked at the mask, it was coldly indifferent. No eyes, no nose, no true mouth, just a few tiny holes to let air through…now, it seemed pitiful. It was a testament to a life I was about to leave behind. A statement.

**Look here now, at me, to which no emotion came, and none was given.**

I put it on. I had to use it for now. Later, I would smash the damn thing.

I swept my hair back with the palm of my hand, careful not to scratch myself. I pulled the hood on and closed my eyes behind the mask.

The world entirely through animal eyes was bizarre even to me, even though I had spent years watching it. I'm sure anyone else would have broken down it the fractured images and confusing information. I was so used to it by now, the time lag that usually came from sending and receiving images had dropped to milliseconds.

I left the hotel room, leaving a small amount of money for tip. I slung my backpack on my back and took off at a dead run. I had miles to go and only a few precious hours until daylight.

Night was my perfect ally. During the daytime, people usually wonder 'what's the deal with that guy in black and the mask?' and that tends to mess up the whole element of surprise thing. At Night, these people are asleep or halfway there and not prone to see black on black.

Though they have been prone to see floating white masks, which made for some interesting gossip over time.

The only bad thing about night is that most creatures I used to gather information were daytime creatures. As such, my bluejay was asleep, and I was having to direct other animals to narrow down the position of the Ghallian.

Damn him for moving. Some creatures should just stay put.

* * *

"Unbelievable." Xavier checked through the files again. There was no mistaking it.

Some powerful psychic influence had popped up overnight. There were different streams of psychic energy flowing across cerebro's screens.

Disturbed by the recent events of the last few days, he began tweaking Cerebro to show different signatures. One was of the strange psychic surge he felt just two days prior, of the intruders in the museum. Another was the mutants, ones he knew and those he didn't, still coming of their own in their mutations. Another was humans, which seemed to be relatively quiet, and the last signature was the underlying murmer of the earth, the last bit of the world after one took away the intruders, the humans, and the mutants. It was this one that had him so occupied.

Over the course of a few hours, Cerebro detected an intense wave that started in a single point and radiated in all directions. As that dissipated, small offshoots like clouds across the globe formed, then disappeared. Only a few pinpoints of psychic energy stayed for any real period of time, until they too disappeared.

Except for one.

He checked the current records Cerebro held. The spot was still there, but it had spread ever so slightly.

He steepled his fingers and took a deep breath.

What was the strange energy that had appeared? Were they friend or foe? Were they mutant, or some intruder? Why did it appear to be searching for something? Did the lingering energy on that one particular spot mean they had found what they were searching for? What was it?

He glanced at the clock. It was two forty-five in the morning.

If he remembered correctly, there was no school today.

* * *

I clung to the side of the building and hauled myself up. Forty miles is a long way to cling to the top of a car.

I hid behind an old air conditioner while sorting myself out. The Ghallian was blocks away, and seemed to be acting bored.

I had a quick check of the area. Some other Ghallians were wandering around a warehouse, but all of them seemed pretty aimless.

What were they doing here? Obviously they had some job. Maybe it was just guard duty? But if so, then what did they guard?

The Ghallian was standing on a rooftop overlooking the warehouse. He was obviously playing sentry.

As I watched, he seemed to stir to life and look around, then slowly turn to look over his shoulder.

I wondered for a minute what he could be looking at. I took a quick glance across his line of vision and-

He was looking in my direction.

Then it hit me. I knew who this particular Ghallian was. He was the leader of the squad that chased me when I had the scales. The one I slammed the pole into.

Suddenly the negotiations seemed to take a downhill slide. No way was he going to make a deal with the one that smashed a pole through his shoulder.

The Ghallian waved his arm in a cutting motion and pointed. I jerked and prepared to run, but stopped when a cat showed me which way the other Ghallians were running.

They were running the wrong way. They were running to the far edge of town, leaving the Ghallian alone on the rooftop. I watched, fascinated, as he began looking in my direction again. He turned away from the warehouse and started walking towards me.

I hopped away from the conditioner. He was a few blocks away, I could still get to a good hiding place to watch him. I jumped off the roof and landed on all fours. I climbed the fire escape of the next building and hid under the jutting stone skirting of the roof. To see me he'd either have to be looking hard from the other building or bend over the side of the roof. The latter would get him a face full of metal, courtesy of claws.

I wedged myself carefully under the skirting so I could leap away if there was danger. The Ghallian was roof hopping, and was only a building away. I watched carefully as the nightbirds sent me an image of him catching himself on the side of the roof opposite from me and climb on with care. The roof was sloped, and the night made it cold and a little slippery.

I strained my ears to listen, but the only thing I heard was the cawing of one nightbird as it winged above. It was amazing. I could see him move with the help of the birds, but he was so silent, I couldn't hear him at all.

He stopped a moment at the top of the sloped roof. He was looking around, the helmet slightly bowed so a shadow fell across his features.

"I can't see you, but I know you're there. Come out."

I almost jumped. He had spoken, and if I wasn't a mutant with animal telekinesis I'd have said it was a ghost.

I stayed still for a moment until he moved his gaze to the direction he'd come from, then I grabbed the edge of the skirting and swung myself up, slamming my left hand into the roof to catch myself.

He jerked back around and saw me, sitting there with my claws halfway through the roof.

I pulled my claws out with a little difficulty and stood up. We sized each other up, him with his own eyes and me with information from the animals.

"You must be the witch. We haven't been formally introduced, but we've met." He flexed his shoulder a bit.

I nodded my head.

He stepped towards me. I moved away. We began to circle each other.

"I don't suppose you'd tell me why it is the witch of the human world is playing this game? Coming to see me, not running and disappearing before I can even arrive?"

I said nothing. Obviously, he was curious. Maybe if he kept on talking I could figure out how he always seemed to know where I was, or even better, a weak spot to exploit.

Perhaps he's thinking the same thing about me. I had to be on guard.

"Perhaps you've come to see me and surrender?" He asked.

I snorted derisively under the mask.

"I see. Then, perhaps, the witch is more intelligent than she looks." He said slowly. "Perhaps the witch is here to strike a deal."

I almost stopped but managed to keep up the circling. Was I really that transparent? Or, dare I think it, he was hoping to strike a deal of his own?

"Stop." He said suddenly. He stayed in his position and I didn't take another step. We were at a standoff.

Then he gestured to me. "Take off your mask. I'll take off this helmet. I want to see your face."

I made a quick gesture. 'You first'.

He pulled off the helmet and I found myself amazed.

He didn't seem to be much older than me, that age of just hitting the twenties. His eyes reflected the moon for a half second and I swore the pupils were of a darker blue, not black. His eyes were blue, and had a spark of intelligence in them that I hadn't seen in any of the Ghallian soldiers, or any of Jaakeni's human followers for that matter. Though it was dark, I could tell his hair was blonde, not the striking sun color or a straw color or even the color of gold like all the romantic novels would say, but the kind of blonde that you see on the dolls of a convenience store, the one not so special. The only thing about it was his hair seemed to spike if you looked at it just right. He was only a little taller than I was.

He looked so human, almost.

He rose an eyebrow at me and imitated the gesture I'd given him earlier.

I reached my claws up started to pull off the mask. Before it came off, I checked for the other Ghallians. They were tearing around downtown. Satisfied they weren't around, I pulled it off all the way, opened my eyes, and swept back the hood.

He studied my face for a few moments. I was getting uncomfortable. As far as I knew, he'd use this moment to make my life a living hell. It was a big jump of faith for me.

"You're not as pretty as the others Jaakeni has used." He mused, stepping forward and leaning in.

"Excuse me?" I deadpanned, standing my ground. "Just who do you think you're talking to?"

"The witch of the human world, most likely." He said, not breaking stride. "But don't take it personally."

I snorted. "I'll try not to."

"So, Witch, whatever is it that you desired my company for?"

"What makes you think I desire anything when it comes to you?" I countered swiftly.

"Well…Allow me to make a scenario. Human Witch can do things that frighten Ghallians because she appears in the oddest of places, always manages to get away without getting caught, always steals away the prize. She is known for her ability to get out of situations by appearing omniscient…she always seems to know where the enemy lies. Now imagine…she appears just inside the range of a Farseeker, blatantly doesn't move, doesn't run when said Farseeker comes after her and stops to talk with said creature, even removing her witchy mask. She must be there for a special reason. In war, creatures of opposite sides meet for one reason. Peace. A fight. Or a deal." He watched me carefully after the explanation was over.

I kept my poker face. He definitely was not as stupid as some of the other troops I'd heard talking. He was very smart, and he had guessed my intentions.

And yet, he wasn't attacking. He wasn't outright denying me anything.

He must want something from me.

Maybe he needs this deal as much as I do.

Time to take the plunge.

"Perhaps…the Ghallian has something pressing on his mind? Something that would make it worth his while to enter a deal with me?" I asked.

I watched as he slowly grinned. It was more predatory than nice. "Yes, actually. Maybe we should drop the little performance and get down to, as they say here, brass tacks?"

I nodded. "Very well. Let's just get one thing straight. I trust you only as far as the deal may go."

"Agreed, Witch."

"I'm looking for a way to save my world from Ghallia and Jaakeni. I need help finding a way to use the artifacts against them, to stop them from coming through."

"And you'll use your newfound powers to take over my world instead, is that it?"

"No. I could care less what happens to your world. I don't give a damn if Jaakeni triumphs and all that over your side or vice versa. And I don't want to start a three way war. I'd rather everyone stay where they were supposed to stay. And that, Ghallian, is the cold hard truth."

"Really?" He said, with no real trace of amusement.

I nodded.

"They say honesty is a virtue but you use it like a weapon. I have to say that you are nothing like I would have imagined."

"Don't patronize me. What is it you want that would make you want a deal? Or have I already shot it down?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I have a solution to your problem. I do know a bit about the 'artifacts' and what they do. That I can help with. But if I help you, I'll be a traitor to my own kind, and there will be a very, very good chance they'd torture me and kill me."

"So get to the point."

"So I want sanctuary."

"Sanctuary." I pondered it for a minute. "You want protection? From what? I can't hold off an army by myself you know."

"I know. Not even Witches are all-powerful. What I mean is that when I help you close the gates linking the worlds, you let me stay on this side. Once it's all over, I leave you and you aren't allowed to harm me."

"Why would you forsake your own side?" I asked sharply.

"That's my own business. Do we have a deal?"

"Should this be in writing?"

"Only if you want someone to find the contract. It's not usually a good idea to leave a paper trail if no magic is involved."

"Agreed. But this is a partnership of convenience. We work together, but we don't have to like each other."

"Alright."

"Oh, and, one more thing."

"What?"

"How do I know that you won't try to pull a fast one and try to take over my world?"

"I'm selfish. I have no wish to devote my time to creatures I don't care about." He said simply. "And that, Witch, is the cold hard truth."

"I can see we'll get along famously." I said holding out my hand. "I'll let you stay, but only if you help me stop them. If at any time you endeavor to stab me in the back, I will kill you."

"Understood." He grabbed my hand and shook on it. "Shall we go before the others discover I've gone?"

"That's a good id—"

_**WHOOSH!**_

I stumbled as the birds sent jumbled images of a craft flying directly over us.

I pulled myself together and looked up. What I saw made the mask slip from my hands and shatter on the ground.

The X-men's jet.

The door open and some mutants had begun to fly out. Then the X-jet lost altitude and I was looking into the windows at the pilot.

Professor Charles Xavier.

And me without my mask.

I saw the surprise light up his face and I swore loudly.

"DAMNIT! Let's go! We have to get out before they catch us! Jump!" I pulled him to the side of the roof and leapt down into the alleyway. I pulled him away to the street on the other side and we ran.

I closed one eye. The red head Jean was closing in on us. I gave the night birds a few images and they dive bombed her, effectively making her break off pursuit. Another one, a younger girl, was trying to move in front of us. When she got there, I grabbed the Ghallian and pulled him into another street as fire bolts started pouring down.

The X-jet roared into the air above us, skimming above the light poles and electrical lines.

Suddenly the Ghallian grabbed my arm and ran into a side street.

"What are you doing?" I yelled over the roar of the engines.

"I have an idea!"

"What is it?" I asked as he pulled me into an alleyway and hid us behind a dumpster.

"We hide."

"They saw us come in here!"

"True." Then he pointed at figures squirreling across the roof of a building across the street we'd just run from. "But they didn't."

I closed my eyes and watched as one Ghallian threw itself onto the plane and began banging on the metal. A few more jumped on the wings. From my aerial view I realized why they were attacking.

We had ended up next to the warehouse. They were guarding the warehouse!

The Ghallian grabbed my arm and pulled me away. "Let's get out of here before they figure out what happening."

"Right."

We hurried away as the sounds of fighting grew louder and louder. Soon there would be sirens and policemen and groups of mutants and Ghallians alike beating hasty retreats.

After would be the inevitable throwing away of the cell phone and the little glowing orb, the former because Xavier would try to track me down. I would lose my link to my parents, but right now it was necessary.

But now there was the Ghallian and I, running away, snagging a car someone had left running, getting out of town with our heads intact, and wondering how far the gas would take us.

"What's your name, anyway?" I asked as the speedometer hit sixty and kept climbing.

"Dexaniaroth. Dex for short."

"I'm Danielle. Danny for short."

Then the car hit eighty and we were long gone.

* * *

PrincessofWildfire:Yeah, I know. This chapter may seem a bit rushed too, sorry. I'm working on it. Glad you liked the voice. Sorry it took me so long, Hope you liked the chapter!

Please leave your reviews on the way out!


	8. What it takes

A/N

Midterms in college, yippee. Hope I do well. Anywho, sorry for the wait (Forgive me, it's been a monh and a week since my last update) but I hope you all enjoy it! Remember, constructive criticism is my friend and I accept it with an open mind! Thank you all for reading!

* * *

Hysterics was not the best thing to deal with over the phone. But, to be fair, neither was the news that a daughter a parent has known all their life had suddenly been identified as a thief, and had not been where she was supposed to be for almost a month. 

Professor Xavier did his best to calm the hysterical woman over the phone. "We are doing all we can to find her, Mrs. Nesmond. I have the ability to track her movements, and I am confident she will be found soon."

"You never should have let you out of her sight in the first place!"

"In my defense, she never left with us. She told us she was staying with you, due to some family reasons. She never came to the institute."

"Why would she lie? She's always been a good girl!"

"Can you tell me anything about her?"

"Like what?" The tone suddenly became guardedly hysterical.

"Odd circumstances, general strange behavior?"

The woman hesitated for a minute. "She…she disappeared once. For over six months. And then she came back again claiming she got lost somewhere."

"Did you try to get more out of her? Teenagers do not suddenly go missing for over half a year!"

"Do you know what it's like to lose a child!" The woman demanded. "I was happy enough to have her back, with no questions asked!"

He rubbed his temple. This was not going well. He had already sent the X-men off to track down the girl, but there was no telling where she'd be when they got to where cerebro had last spotted her. She moved in increasingly erratic patterns, ones that made him suspicious as to how secure his office really was. Not twenty minutes after he had dismissed the X-men, the girl suddenly changed course. Every time he gave them directions, he would have to contact them again with a new change in course.

Almost as if she had an inside contact.

"Mr. Xavier, I want to know how this happened. How could she do all of these things behind our backs!"

"I think, perhaps, we put far too much trust in her wish to do the best for herself and her family. I'm sorry to say this, but her behavior is more than just delinquent. She's hurt people. She hurt one of my teachers, and I'm afraid that kind of behavior will get her killed."

"What are you saying?" The voice came with a tremble.

"There are very nasty people, mutants and humans, and if she continues with the stealing and attacks, she'll get into trouble she can't handle. We'll try to help her. There's only so much we can do if she's not willing to come."

"He talked with her a bit more, tried to sooth her worries while being realistic. He'd seen mutants turn bad before. He didn't know if he'd be able to help, or if she truly wanted his help.

He could feel the tension again. She was a part of it, somehow. Waging her own wars that he couldn't see. But even if he couldn't see the war, he could feel the violence creeping over the horizon.

He hoped to himself that he could stop this before blood was spilled.

* * *

A small trickle of blood went down my arm as I chewed the glass shard out. I and my new business partner were hiding in an office building of all places. I had to break some glass to get in, but without the alarms and the fact that this was a poor side of town, we were reasonably safe. 

Dex was saying something. I wasn't listening. We'd been running for two days straight, dodging those X-men and their jet, hoping against hope they wouldn't catch up to us. In that time, I picked apart the X-mansion or whatever they call it and found out how they managed to dog us for so long.

Damn computers! Damn them for all the problems they've given me over the years. Not this one. This one had to die. And while it was dead, I'd find out new ways, better ways to stay hidden.

I conducted my mini war against the machine with an accuracy that made me feel proud of my troops-rats, roaches, and the odd mouse or two. I had them cut the power source, kill the energy, then get into the stupid thing and eat through the wires and do other sordid little things to it.

'_Fix that, Xavier.'_ I thought smugly.

"Are you listening?" Dex demanded.

"No." I said simply, jerking away from my gloating. "I was working."

"On what?"

"Our clean getaway. They won't be able to pinpoint us now."

"You're bleeding all over yourself."

I glanced down. The blood trickle had grown, and it covered a bit of my jacket. I had changed a few hours before. Pity. I'd have to change again when we moved out. Nothing like drawing an attentive crowd, bloody jackets.

"Flesh wound." I pulled out an old shirt from my bag and held it to the cut in my arm. "So what were you saying?"

"I was saying that since we finally have some time alone we might want to discuss how we're going to pull this off. There are difficulties involved that need to be discussed."

"Of course. Discuss away."

He gave a slight frown to my apparent nonchalance, but didn't rise to the bait. "There are five main gates. Each of them powers all the gates of a lower energy wave, and if we can shut those gates down, we can make it nearly impossible for anyone to get in."

"I'm not interested in nearly."

"You'll have to be. It can't be shut down completely. The harmonics of both worlds are too closely matched to shut one entirely off. The consequence might get us both in trouble."

"Go on."

"We can use the 'aritfacts' to close the gate by making them overload the power source."

"How do we do that? And why would that help?"

"We'll know when we get there. It's different for every gate. Putting too much energy in the power source will cause the doors to believe there's been a sudden surge of energy through the lesser gates, and because there's a failsafe in place, it should shut them all down to prevent magical backlash."

"Backlash?"

"Too much energy causes discharges when the gates are opened. The energy used to keep the gates open is let loose and can have the possibility of burning everything in a ten mile radius. People who built the gates before must have been a lot more loving then Ghallians or Jaakeni's followers ever were."

"You seem to know a lot about this."

"It's amazing what reading from forbidden books on your off time can do for your perspective." He said dryly. "Or at least, books looked down upon."

"I see. Any idea how many artifacts it takes to shut down one gate?"

"A lot."

"Damn. How are we going to get enough of those things to shut down one gate, let alone five? We only have one artifact." I tapped my fingers against my lips and looked out into the night sky. It was clear, and the moon was just beginning to wane.

_You could get more help._ A deep voice I knew too well sifted into my head. I hadn't heard from him in about three days.

"Absolutely not." I saw Dex look at me quizzically out the corner of my eye, then he seemed to realize I was talking to someone else.

_You seek to help your world, and yet you do not find it in your heart to seek out those that love it like you?_

"I don't listen to my heart. It inevitably gets me into trouble."

_Then listen to yourself. You already said it would be impossible for the stranger and you to do it alone. And there are places that we animals will be of no help._

"I can't recruit others. It would be too difficult. They have agendas."

_Agendas is where you work best. Look what you have done with the Stranger. He shan't betray you now. _

"How can you be sure this will work?" I murmured.

_You know what they want. You don't have to give them peace and love. Give them a way out. They will be your pack if you give the right incentive._

I closed my eyes and tapped a finger to my lips. I opened them again and looked straight at Dex, who was watching me with something close to perplexed amusement.

"I was talking to an old friend. He was giving me advice."

"Which was?"

"How good are you at recruiting troops?"

* * *

"We have one hell of a rat problem." Logan glared at the mess before him. Cerebro's room had been torn to pieces. 

"We have something worse than that. Cerebro was linked to our security systems. We need to fix it immediately, Logan."

"Why would rats suddenly attack Cerebro?"

"The same reason that crow has been sitting on the tree outside my office window. Danielle Nesmond."

Logan shook his head. "I'm going to hurt that kid when I get her."

"We should be aware of the possibility that that will be the only way we do get her." Xavier said with a sigh.

"Why do you say that?" Logan asked curiously as he pulled a chewed wire out of the wall.

"I have a horrible feeling Logan. Something's happening. Something that's about to boil over onto the streets. I can feel two strong powers closing in, and they hate each other. But the frightening thing is, they hate us much, much more."

* * *

I sat cross-legged on the floor and closed my eyes. The animal information started pouring. They touched my mind briefly, found out what I wanted, and left. 

I wanted stealth. Power. Intelligence.

I couldn't help but wonder if I was turning into Xavier. His ideals, his 'better control over powers and life' philosophy. But he worked for the good of mutant kind and preserving life as peacefully as possible.

I had another approach. There would be fighting. There would be personal gain. There would be me, and those that ran with me, whether they are human, mutant, or soldiers from another dimension. We'd save the world, but not for the good of the whole. We'd do it for the good of ourselves. That's the only honest path I have now.

The thoughts streamed back in like a tide. Hundreds of profiles. I rejected mutants already taken by Xavier and some other red suited mutant. I rejected humans and other creatures neither human nor mutant that seemed to have a connection with something bigger than themselves. They were nothing but trouble. Their superiors would inevitably come after them when they disappeared, and I already had one refugee on my hands.

I sifted through until I found the more promising files. I placed them in a mental order, and got the directions for the first one.

"You ready to go?" I asked Dex. He was leaning against the wall watching me out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes. Who are we bringing into this little fold?"

"Don't know yet. Don't know his name. I know where he's going though."

"How are you going to convince him, whoever he is?" Dex asked skeptically. I gave him a wan smile.

"I know his little brother."

* * *

Please leave your reviews and thanks for reading! 

PrincessOfWildfire: I know I write them as annoying, but sometimes they get a little too unrealistic. Yeah, Dex did have an upper hand most of the time, but he's infuriating like that. That entire thing just sort of wrote itself.Don't feel bad! I was trying to make it mysterious. You'll find though that he isn't as happy or carefree as he was in Morphos. Hope you like the chapter! More characters in the next chapter, and I hope you like them!

Arin Ross: Hey! Good to see you back! Eek, you have so many questions. First off, thanks for the constructive criticism, I'm going to try to utilize it in the next chapters, couldn't really this time because I had it written by the time I realized you reviewed. But I shall improve! And the whole Danny power thing, I'll be addressing that later, so I can't tell you right now or it'll spoil it, but I can tell you she has no exceptionally new powers-more like she came into her own. As far as the characters in chapter five that she was looking at, only the two you spotted are marvel. The others were my own creation. I'm afraid there's no Doggy, but Danny hardly goes very long without some animal partner. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. More characters to enter the fold soon. Thanks for reviewing again!


	9. Recruiter

A/N

I am really sorry about the delay. It's been a month and a half since I last updated. It's that time of the semester the work starts piling in. My Christmas break will be here in three weeks though, so I'll do the best I can to put up a few updates.

* * *

Allen K. Roderick. Fourteen years old. Bright kid, a little on the daydreamer side. Withdrawn, noted on several teaching faculty lists to be 'distressingly rebellious in lieu of group activities.' 

Well, duh.

I put down the pilfered reports and worked the stiffness out my shoulder. The car was a little uncomfortable, and my arm stung if I brushed up against anything too hard.

Dex opted out of helping me recruit. Instead, I directed him to a library he could easily get into. If he was going to be working with me, he'd better bring up his knowledge on these wonderful things that humans are so well known for. Ignorance would get us into serious trouble.

I glanced at my wristwatch. Twenty after midnight. I glanced down the street. A cop had come down not an hour ago. I had to hide down in the front seat. Somehow I don't think 'I'm out here recruiting for a subterfuge war against warriors from another world, officer' would get me out of any tickets he might decide to give.

I checked my watch again. Almost show time.

Allen K. Roderick often left the confines of his pretty little duplex that his mother and brother lived in (the whereabouts of his father seemed pending) to wander the streets and talk to himself. I'd been watching for two days on the trip over. He had a pattern: get out the window, walk two blocks away until he was under a streetlight (which I was parked beside) and argue for a few minutes, then walk all the way to the bus station, but never actually go in, then turn around, go back to his house, pretend to sleep till morning.

I felt a little trill in the back of my head: he just left. I hopped out of the car and went around to the trunk. I sat down out of sight and waited.

Footsteps sounded hollow against the ground as he moved. There was an echo, unnatural. Almost as if the footsteps were followed by another pair that never quite touched the ground.

"Whoever has this car is going to have it stolen in the morning." A voice muttered. I smiled thinly.

"What do you mean, it's probably already stolen? You're paranoid." The voice continued after its quick halt. It paused again. "I don't even know how to drive."

"I suppose that's good for me then." I said getting up. I 'saw' the boy whirl around and stare at me in shock.

I rounded the edge of the trunk and gave him my best smile. He quickly ran to the other side of the car.

"Who are you?"

"Danny. Danny Nesmond. Recruiter, of sorts."

"What are you recruiting?" He asked guardedly. He was trying to stall for time, trying to tell if I was dangerous.

"You."

"What!"

"I didn't stutter."

"Why me?"

"Because you're gifted-ha, no, I can't say that and keep a straight face. I suppose it's because I can help you and you can help me. It'll be mutual helping."

"Like what?"

"You want to leave right? Probably don't have the money though. Don't have the strength either. It's difficult, leaving home. I can help."

"I don't want to leave!" He said hotly as he moved directly under the streetlight. "And I have plenty of strength!"

Thin. Really too thin. Probably had some sort of metabolism problem. Couldn't be due to lack of food in the house-his mother had food left every meal. Black hair, defiant looks, and sharp brown eyes. He stood up ramrod straight, bringing his eyes level to mine. He seemed to want to make himself tall, and to take up as much room as possible.

"Really? You don't seem all that strong to me. You seem kind of lost."

"How did you find me?" He asked coldly.

"I know your brother."

"You know Theo?" He asked suspiciously.

"Sure. We've never been introduced, of course, but one can't have everything. But I know a good many things about him. For example, he hits little girls without even moving an inch-"

He moved so fast I didn't have time to get out of his way. He was up in my face yelling at the top of his lungs.

"THAT WASN'T HIS FAULT, IT'S NEVER HIS FAULT! I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE, BUT YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPY ON MY BROTHER, AND YOU BETTER GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"How can I if you've got me three feet off the ground?" I asked with complete calm. Working for years without emotion has certainly helped in these rather stressful situations.

He was struck dumb for a moment, and then looked down. We were, indeed, floating. Three feet off the ground.

"You have a little more control over this than your brother. And you get very angry when someone makes any comments about him don't you?"

"Everyone says he's a demon."

"There are other explanations."

"We had him tested, and me. We're not mutants."

"Mutants aren't the only creatures that can do interesting things."

"What else is there?" He asked miserably as he put us down. He sat down heavily on the pavement. "I'm such a freak. My mom would be better off without me around."

I was beginning to have the feeling the boy was bi-polar. Raging one second, self-pitying the next.

"It is…my experience that daughters and sons think that at least one time in their lives. It's rarely true."

"How would you know?"

"Oh, I know. I know more about it than you can imagine. I'm a mutant. That makes me feared. I am someone's daughter, therefore someone is to blame. I've fought in a battle no one knows about, and as such, everyone in my family now suffers." Oh yes. I haven't forgotten that I haven't called my mother this month, and probably will never call again. They'll fear for me, and cry about the things I do. Maybe disown me. "There's a good chance that if you leave in your own way, you will cause nothing but heartache for your family."

"I told you I don't want to leave."

"Your actions say otherwise. But aside from that, tell me…you're not a mutant. How did you learn to fly?"

"I can't fly. Only float. And I just learned."

"Then wouldn't it be obvious," I turned my back on him, "that at some point you could learn so much, come back and help your brother?"

"You don't understand." He moaned. "There two of them, two of us! There's somebody inside my head with me, and when I was Theo's age the things that happen to him happened to me too! I can't stop it!"

"I know. I guessed that when I was watching your brother. But it would make sense that if you both have the same condition, you must teach him, right?"

"But what about those times I'm not there? Those times he needs my help?"

Hah! That means he's considering it.

"There is very little in the world a resourceful kid can't do on his own. Besides, I can set up a buddy system, watch over your brother for you. He'll never be in any real trouble." I crouched down until my head was level with his. "And coming back to help may give him more of an advantage. Though…I won't say our little partnership is without risk."

"Risk?" His head rose a little.

"I'm going to put together a team to help me save the world."

"Like the X-men?"

I snorted. "They couldn't do what I'm going to do. They spend too much time picking up litter and saving the park habitat that doesn't need them anyway. My team will take a different approach. One that includes bending a few laws and breaking a lot more."

"You're trying to turn me into a criminal?"

"You can call yourself a highwayman if you want. They're romantic figures. But I'm telling you this so you know what will happen. There will be fighting. The people will want to kill you. There will be stealing, and you can and will end up on wanted lists. You may end up a very rich or very dead person. I will do everything I can to prevent the latter."

"What can you do?"

"What can't I? I'm quite resourceful in my own right. I will promise you this, Allen-if you join me, I will protect you with my life. I will never ask you to do something that I won't. I will ask you to do things I can't, because in my experience, flying is not a skill I'm born with. Or floating."

He barked a sharp laugh. "I'm the first person you've tried to recruit, aren't I?"

"After a fashion, yes. How did I do?"

"Terrible."

"I guessed as much. Public speaking isn't my forte. Hell, speaking isn't my forte."

He stared off into space for a moment. The he looked at me. "Can I tell my mom I'm leaving?"

I didn't let my surprise show up on my face. For a minute I thought he was going to float back home.

"Sure. But there will be rules about the whole calling and visits and stuff."

"Okay." He got up. Then he looked at me. "I was going to leave. To stop Mom from having to worry about me and Theo. She should just worry about him. It's a lot tougher for him, I was home schooled for the first few years, and I still can't control whatever it is when I'm in groups. It hurts people. I don't know why."

"And you never will if you stay around here." I finished the sentence he couldn't speak. He nodded.

"I knew I was going to leave sometime. I didn't think it would be like this."

I didn't say anything. He looked around for a moment. "Will you wait for me?"

"Of course."

He walked away. When he was gone I breathed a little sigh of relief. This whole 'be honest and wow them with your intelligence didn't quite work like I thought it would. It shouldn't have worked, but I could tell he just needed an excuse. I'd have to work on my recruitment a little better.

One isn't lucky all the time.

* * *

Next chapter will take a jump into the future. Just so you guys are prepared. Sorry if this chapter wasn't quite up to par, but I'll do my best to bring the chapters back up to my standard. 

Arin Ross: Sorry I haven't updated! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Heh, glad you're enjoying the stuff about Magneto and Logan. Prepare fora whole load of OC's in the next chapter. Should be quite interesting. I don't know which brother you were thinking off, but I hope you found the brother I gave out pretty interesting! Hope you did well on your college APS! (Err...what are those, anyway, at the risk of sounding like a moron?)

Please leave a review!


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